panecott

Well, it's easy to understand why.

Percy

Re- read your trip report again.

Many of the scenes you saw in the Rocky Moun
tains have been/are on our currency.

Don't know where you are now but I just made a fresh pot of hot coffee and have some Taramisu Cake.

Porch light is on all night... and the welcome signs is out.

panecott

Aw, shucks, Percy, I'm clear across the continent.

Actually, I'm at a friend's just outside Boston - here for the Head of the Charles Regatta this weekend. But home is NY.

But that sure sounds like a welcoming scene at your house. Next time I'm in Canada I'll follow the aroma of fresh coffee and pay you a visit. ;-) Meantime, enjoy that Tiramisu.

Percy

Thank You....I will enjoy it the cake! and see you next time.

panecott

You got it!

___________

Just a couple of corrections to my report.

The animal I saw along the road just outside of Canmore was an elk, not a moose. I wasn't sure but I checked my pictures.

The Visitors' Center I mentioned in Kananaskis Country was the Barrier Lake VC, not the Bow Lake VC.

LindainOhio

Thanks for reporting back. The Canadian Rockies are one of our favorite places to visit.

Borealis

Loved your report!! We live close enough to visit several times a year, but I never tire of the incredible beauty - and every time of the year there's something different and interesting to see. And I never tire of reading reports by people who come to love the mountains as much as I do. Thanks for writing!!

panecott

Thank you, Borealis.

You and Linda are so fortunate to enjoy repeated visits there!

dottyp

Hi, Panecott.

Thank you. I too have thoroughly enjoyed your picture-creating report. We were in Jasper and Banff last year late September / early October and you rekindled the wonderful memories of our time there. Of course, for us it was not long enough, but we were taken with the majesty of the Rockies and the beauty of the lakes and surrounding areas. Because of our limited time frame we took several tours to enable us to see as much as possible - we were not prepared to drive on the "wrong" side of the road for us.

We hope to return in a few years' time.

Celiaanne2

Great report, panecott! Thank you. I completely agree with you. The area is unbelievable gorgeous!

mikecampsey

Great writing! My wife and I are from the Pittsburg, PA area and totally loved Banff and Jasper 8 or 10 years ago. We think about it often. We're thinking about Ft Nelson in BC for our 2015 vacation but can't get much feedback from Fodor's or Trip Advisor about the wildlife and scenery in that [email protected]

panecott

Thank you so much, dotty, Celiaanne and mike. I think this is one place where NO ONE will argue about how beautiful it is!

mike, I haven't heard of Fort Nelson before, but just from its location alone on the Alaska H'way I would imagine it's beautiful!

http://www.hellobc.com/fort-nelson.aspx

And according to Wikipedia, it has abundant wildlife and the northern lights are frequently visible from there.
Sounds like a great destination.

tomarkot

Panecott, really enjoyed your report. A few years back, we did the same trip, very similar to your itinerary. We agree-the scenery is phenomenal. Like you, we enjoy driving trips where we can stop a lot, and adjust our plans. While in the Canadian Rockies, we did a fair amount of hiking, and were very aware of the grizzlies in certain areas! We have a watercolor of Mound Edith Cavell in our breakfast room.

We've just returned from nearly a month in the Alps. We enjoyed much incredible scenery there! We're just beginning to put together a TR. Fortunately, there are so many places to travel, each with their own beauty.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

panecott

Thanks so much, tom. I'm glad you enjoyed the report, and I look forward to reading about your time in the Alps. I will keep an eye out for it.

As you said, there is so much incredible beauty there too!

Myer

Glad to read that the trip went well. Looks like you had a great time.

Really, I don't think you missed much by not hiking Maligne Canyon or going to Natural Bridge.

I thought Mistaya Canyon just above Lake Louise is much better with great views.

Now we have to see your photos to bring back the memories.

Apparently many more people are injured or killed by male moose, deer or elk than bears.

Great report!!!

basingstoke2

Great report. Photos, we need photos.

kgsneds

I have to agree about the Natural Bridge - if you're going along that road anyway, you might as well stop for a few minutes to see it, but it's certainly not something that requires going out of one's way to see.

BTW, maybe you mean Johnston Canyon? Mistaya is quite a ways from Lake Louise. I agree that the best canyons are not the ones most visited by tourists - the most stunning slot canyon in the Rockies I've been to is one that I think you can only access in the winter for ice climbing, and then only via rappel.

Percy - we take a lot of precautions when venturing into areas with avalanche risk including assessing the snowpack/terrain/weather and taking avalanche safety gear. I've done a basic avalanche safety course, but will still only go out with people who have more experience in risk assessment than myself.

panecott

Thanks, Myer and basingstoke.

Where is Mistaya Canyon? If I had continued on the LL trail toward the teahouse, would I have come to it?

I'd love to post some photos. I took more than 4000 so it will take some time.

But I promise to pick out only a few and not post all 4000.

panecott

kgs, we were posting at the same time.

So, is Johnston Canyon reached from the LL trail?

And where is Mistaya? Is it somewhere north of LL, on the way to Jasper? Or along H'way 1?

It sounds familiar but I don't know if I read about or maybe passed it along the way.

Myer

Johnston Canyon is along the Bow Valley Parkway between Banff Townsite and Lake Louise. It's on the right side going towards LL.

I had not read much about it so thought we'd be the only ones there. What a surprise when the large parking lot was full. Great engineering feat building a trail hanging from the canyon wall.

Johnston Canyon is two hikes (really 3 but we won't fight over it). The first is about 2/3 mile to the first waterfalls which I don't really like. The second is about another 2/3 mile beyond with many fewer people and a beautiful waterfall.

Mistaya Canyon is at Km 71 (42 miles) north of Lake Louise on the way to Jasper.

Mistaya Canyon is about a 15 minute walk from the parking lot.

Don't just stand on the small bridge and look down. Cross the bridge, turn left along the rapids / river and walk out on the rocks at various openings.

Great views and photo ops. I also knew nothing about this and came across it in my research.

You can go to my web site and look at the various trips that include Banff and/or Jasper and see photos of these places.
www.travelwalks.com